Buakaw confident Tawanchai was in cruise control vs Masaaki Noiri until the unimaginable: "He had more attacks"

Muay Thai and kickboxing legend Buakaw Banchamek has shared his expert analysis on Tawanchai PK Saenchai's unexpected defeat to Masaaki Noiri, suggesting the Thai superstar was firmly in control before disaster struck.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the Thai offered his perspective on the surprising turn of events that unfolded when the pair traded leather for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title at ONE 172 inside the Saitama Super Arena.

"Up until the start of the third round, I would say Tawanchai was leading. He was scoring points, Buakaw explained. "He had more attacks while Masaaki threw one or two. He didn't do much wrong until this point."

The result truly wasn't on most fans' bingo cards.

Many saw the PK Saenchaimuaythaigym affiliate cruising to a victory over the former two-division K-1 champion last month. Despite controlling his Japanese adversary for several stretches of the tie, the latter struck big time to end proceedings at 1:55 of the third canto.

Masaaki Noiri ruined Tawanchai's dream of attaining two-sport glory with a nasty left hook and a final salvo of strikes to capture 26 pounds of gold, a US$50,000 performance bonus, and his second promotional win.

Watch Buakaw's analysis here:

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Superbon impressed by Masaaki Noiri's finish of Tawanchai

ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon offered his take on Noiri's finishing sequence at ONE 172 on March 23.

The Thai warrior, who will unify his belt against the Japanese at a later date, revealed that Masaaki Noiri dissected Tawanchai's defense to perfection on his way to world title glory.

"It was a continuous rhythm, punching and cutting the body first. And then, at the moment, when Tawanchai guarded low and lifted his knee - that was Tawanchai's mistake. And then Noiri connected with the left, which connected, and the right, which made Tawanchai fall."

Fight fans who missed any action from ONE's epic outing in Saitama, Japan, can rewatch the entire ONE 172 card for free at watch.onefc.com.